Stretch of Harbor Boulevard has become fast food central

Along a one-mile stretch of Harbor Boulevard in Costa Mesa, from the I-405 to Adams Avenue, is a scattering of fast food restaurants – gastronomic monuments to California's automobile-centric, always-on-the-go lifestyle.

This relatively small strip of Orange County's iconic thoroughfare, nicknamed the Harbor Boulevard of Cars for its many auto dealerships, boasts 16 fast food joints – many of which have opened in the last three years.

The result is a veritable Hamburger Row – Sonic, McDonald's, Burger King, Habit Burger, Five Guys, In-N-Out – with a peppering of miscellaneous restaurants, such as Subway, Chick-fil-A and Yoshinoya.

It is sensory overload for the fast-food junkie.

"I think it's a good thing," said John McCarter, a Costa Mesa resident who eats at the In-N-Out on Gisler Avenue and Harbor nearly every Friday following his co-ed softball games. "There are a lot of fast food places. Maybe they could have put an Olive Garden or something."

The popping up of these fast-food chains is largely the product of a concentrated redevelopment effort by Harbor Mesa LLC, the owner of the largest swath of property there, and Costa Mesa's Planning Commission, which wanted to revamp a section of the city many claim had become dilapidated.

Among the run-down buildings that dotted the area was the Inn at Costa Mesa, which had become a hotbed of nefarious activity, according to Bill Lang, the manager of Harbor Mesa LLC and Kaplan's Deli, a Costa Mesa landmark that went out of business in 2005.

"It was a run-down 10 1/2 acres," said Lang, the developer of the master plan. "We worked on a total plan, and we are happy with the result, which obliterated the blight that was there."

Thanks to the ending of a number of long-term leases, Harbor Mesa was able to re-let the various parcels to new businesses – most of which were fast food restaurants, with one of the few exceptions being a Fresh and Easy.

The reasons why Harbor is an attractive destination for fast food restaurants, though, are fairly obvious: its close proximity to a major freeway, Orange Coast College and the Orange County fairgrounds.

The impact on the community, however, is less clear.

Some, like McCarter, think the restaurants are good because they create jobs. Others, such as Denise Moon of the Eastside Neighbors Association, believe that the abundance of fast food restaurants cheapens the city's image.

VOICES

"All the buildings have an informed architectural palette. We don't have visual clutter. What you see is one uniformed look. Harbor is a gateway to the city, so we want to make sure it's pleasing to the eye."

Colin McCarthy, chairman of Costa Mesa Planning Commission

"It's a good thing that there's a heck of a lot of fast food restaurants. It's Harbor Boulevard, there's a lot of cars and people."

Katie Caddis, 17, Denny's employee

"It's good that people have different choices. It's better than before. But I mostly stop (at the Fresh & Easy) after work."

Donna Jimenez, 50, Costa Mesa resident

"It is Hamburger Row right there. But it creates jobs, which is good for the community. I try to only eat burgers once a week."

John McCarter, 52, Costa Mesa resident

"It's probably not good for the community. In England, where I'm from, we don't have all these fast food restaurants. But I like In-N-Out because we don't have them in England."

Mark Langtree, 26, salesman at Connell Chevy in Costa Mesa

"When (fast food) operators look for locations, they look for visibility, high-traffic areas, a decent population around them. Harbor Boulevard is dense. It is a big commercial area that isn't well-defined. If you lack definition, you get any number of things."